Too little too late
By
Sarge
In an effort to look as though they’re doing something, anything similar to taking action, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee started procedures to impeach John Koskinen , the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Koskinen is implicated in a case of abuse of power where Tea Party organizations were punitively targeted and effectively stalled from receiving tax exempt status. Additionally he and Lois Lerner were responsible for giving false information and destroying email communications. Lerner was a supervisor in the system.
Lerner supervised the division screening the applications. She retired quickly after the scandal broke in 2013. She was held in contempt of Congress for twice refusing to testify on the screening. Representative Darrell Issa, Chairman of the Committee screwed the pooch when he allowed Lerner to issue a statement denying guilt before she took the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify for fear of criminally incriminating herself with her testimony and/or potential perjury. Such statements are not legally allowed; you take the oath and shut your obstructionist mouth under protections offered by the amendment. You’re not allowed to make a speech as she did.
Chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah said: "Commissioner Koskinen violated the public trust� he failed to comply with a congressionally issued subpoena, documents were destroyed on his watch, and the public was consistently misled�. Such strong words and such a powerfully issued verbal indictment has rarely been witnessed before this.
Chaffetz went on to say: "Impeachment is the appropriate tool to restore public confidence in the IRS and to protect the institutional interests of Congress," Chaffetz said. "This action will demonstrate to the American people that the IRS is under repair, and signal that executive branch officials who violate the public trust will be held accountable."
It’s a nice sentiment but it’s also too little too late.
Cleta Mitchell, an attorney representing one of the Tea Party groups shunted away from receiving a tax-free status, said the investigation was a “sham� of sorts. Mitchell said a “real� investigation wasn’t conducted because victims weren’t interviewed. “To my knowledge they did not interview a single victim of the IRS targeting."
All of this came to light after the Department of Justice (DOJ) (showing the greasy residue left behind by Eric Holder when he was effectively stone-walling any investigation or fact-finding to protect the Obama demonstration from its obvious culpability in punishing any political dissent in this nation) moved to close its two-year “investigation� of the targeting debacle without charging Lerner or any other IRS employee.
The decision sparked outrage among conservatives and many tea party groups that were heavily scrutinized in their applications for tax-exempt from the agency.
Koskinen testified Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee on the scandal.
Chaffetz said in the committee's resolution, Koskinen violated the public trust by:
� Failing to comply with a subpoena that resulted in the erasing of 422 backup tapes containing as many as 24,000 of Lerner's emails. The evidence was destroyed on Koskinen's watch.
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� Failing to testify truthfully and provided misleading information in telling Congress that all relevant emails had been turned over, but later admitting that they were missing and could not be recovered. The Treasury Department's inspector general has since located as many as 30,000 of Lerner's emails.
� Failing to tell Congress that Lerner's emails were missing in February 2014 in response to a subpoena. The emails were destroyed on March 4, 2014, according to investigators. The agency told Congress that the emails were missing four months later, in June 2014, and that was "well after" it had informed the White House and the Treasury Department.
Chaffetz called for President Barack Obama to remove Koskinen in July. His call for Koskinen’s removal was supported by 51 Republicans. In a not too surprising response, Obama did nothing.
This last point indicates the future of this entire debacle. Though Congress may impeach Koskinen; Obama is almost assured to pardon him for any and all crimes convicted of under the indictment.
As we know, the people of the United States are the least in Obama’s affections and, he rewards his hit-men/women for their perfidious actions benefiting his arrogant administration,it wouldn’t appear this theory is too far off the point.
That’s why this is too little, too late to change the destructive agenda of the Obama administration.
Thanks for listening